Milwaukee Brewers: 2018 New Year's Resolutions for the Crew

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2018 is upon us and with the coming of a new year comes a fresh set of New Year’s Resolutions. While some of us will be attempting to go to the gym more often, the Milwaukee Brewers players should have some different resolutions in mind.

No player on this team had a perfect season and each of them have plenty to strive for in the new year. Some may have more to strive for than others. Without a doubt, these are the New Year’s resolutions each Milwaukee Brewers player should have for 2018.

Eric Thames

Consistency, Consistency, Consistency
Cut down on the K’s

Eric Thames was blazing hot in the month of April. He was ice cold in May and June. Thames heated up again in July but cooled off hard in August before getting hot again in September. He needs to find consistency and cut down on his 163 strikeouts that he had in 2017. He had a tremendous walk rate of 13.6% but struck out in 29.6% of his plate appearances.

Jonathan Villar

Get. On. Base!
Make zero outs on the basepaths
Have a plus DRS

When Jonathan Villar had his productive 2016 campaign, his OBP was at .369. In 2017 it was at .293 which is atrocious for a “leadoff hitter.” He’s known for his mistakes running the bases and if he can avoid being picked off at all, it will be a major help. He’s also known for poor defense, but he should resolve to post a positive defensive runs saved in 2018.

Eric Sogard

Find more of that Nerd Power

Eric Sogard was a good defender, hit for the best batting average of his career, and walked more than he struck out. But if his nickname is going to stay “Nerd Power”, he needs to bring more of it. His .378 slugging percentage was lower than his OBP. His three homers were a career high, but it would be nice to see that slugging percentage climb into the .400s.

Orlando Arcia

Cut down on Errors
Hit near the top of the lineup

Orlando Arcia had 20 errors in his first full season in the big leagues. With how gifted a defender he’s shown himself to be, that stat is likely an anomaly. He should cut those errors in half in 2018. He also came on strong at the plate this year despite hitting at the bottom of the lineup. Scouting reports suggest his long term home is at the top of the lineup. He should strive to find a regular role hitting either first or second in the order in 2018.

Travis Shaw

Repeat 2017 success

Travis Shaw proved the Boston Red Sox wrong. They didn’t think he could succeed outside of a platoon situation. He didn’t need that at all with the Milwaukee Brewers and had an amazing season all around. He knocked 31 homers and drove in 101 RBIs while hitting .273 in 2017. Shaw needs to do it again and if he can even show improvement in some categories, even better. If he does that he’s well on his way to a contract extension.

Hernan Perez

Draw more walks
Convince Counsell to let you play all nine positions in a game

Hernan Perez only drew 20 walks all of 2017. His OBP dropped to .289 because of it. Since he doesn’t hit for a very high average, finishing the year with a .259 batting average, it’s important for the Milwaukee Brewers Swiss Army Knife to find more ways to get on base and get himself in the lineup more often. Perez’s goal of playing all nine positions in a game has been there for a while now. He should resolve that this be the year he convinces Craig Counsell to let that happen.

Jesus Aguilar

Take advantage of every opportunity to play

Jesus Aguilar did not put together a bad season. In his limited role, he managed to hit .265 with 16 homers in 279 ABs. With Thames entrenched as the starter, Aguilar needs to produce every chance he can get. He did well as a pinch hitter but making the most of his starts will be vital to his long term success. The future for him may not be with the Milwaukee Brewers, but a strong showing could give him a chance to start someplace in the future.

Ryan Braun

Stay Healthy

When Ryan Braun is healthy, he is still one of the most dangerous hitters in the National League. He missed well over a month in two separate DL stints in 2017. He’s been hampered by nagging injuries for the past few years. When he was healthy back in 2016, he hit 30 homers with a .305 average. He’s still a great hitter, but his focus should be on staying healthy so he can play at his best.

Keon Broxton

Stop striking out so much
Find some consistency

Keon Broxton has a ton of potential. He posted his first career 20-20 season in 2017, but just barely. He has the potential for maybe even 30 home runs and 30 or 40 stolen bases. However, he’s the streakiest player alive. He’ll have two good weeks where he’s hitting everything and then a whole month where he couldn’t hit a watermelon. Broxton struck out 175 times, enough for a 37.8% strikeout rate. That’s terrible. He needs to resolve to make more contact and find some consistency if he wishes to continue to start in center field.

Brett Phillips

Cut down on the strikeouts

Brett Phillips is another Milwaukee Brewers player that has a lot of power but also strikes out too much. In his 98 plate appearances, Maverick struck out 34 times, enough for a 34.7% strikeout rate. To become a more consistent contributor in this lineup, Phillips will need to cut down on those whiffs and make more contact.

Domingo Santana

Strike out less
Improve throwing arm

Domingo Santana struck out 178 times in 2017 with a 29.3% K rate. He was very productive overall with 30 homers and a .278 average, but cutting down on the K’s would be great. Also, he graded out as a below average defender in right field. In order to improve that, he should build his arm strength. Considering he’s a right fielder, who’s supposed to have the strongest arm, and Phillips who is known to have a cannon is right there. It’s either become a better thrower, or move to left at some point.

Stephen Vogt

Improve Throwing Arm
Draw more walks

Stephen Vogt‘s walk rate this year was 3.9%. It’s generally seen around baseball that players should draw a walk at at least a 5% clip. There’s nothing wrong with getting on base more. Vogt’s throwing arm was atrocious this year. It was part of the reason he was released from Oakland. He only threw out four baserunners all year and that needs to change. He’s a good pitch framer and calls a great game behind the plate, but with a lethal throwing arm, he’s back to being one of the top defensive catchers in the league.

Manny Pina

More power

Speaking of top defensive catchers in the league, Manny Pina put together a phenomenal season. He led the league in pickoffs and caught 36% of would be base stealers. His pitch framing metrics also grade out positively. The only issue to improve on is his bat. He hit for a good average and didn’t strike out a ton. But he finished the season with only nine home runs. He doesn’t need to hit 20 a year, although that would be nice, but if he can get in the 12-15 home run range, his profile would jump even higher.

Jeremy Jeffress

Get back to 2016 form

As the closer for the Milwaukee Brewers back in 2016, Jeremy Jeffress did a tremendous job before being traded to Texas at the end of July. 2017 was a much different story. He was pitching so poorly for Texas that they traded him back to Milwaukee for nearly nothing. Jeffress recovered a little bit since his return, but now with a full off season back home and with his support system, Jeffress is able to focus on getting back to where he was in 2016.

Josh Hader

Allow fewer walks
Use off speed pitches

Josh Hader walked 22 batters in his 35 appearances en route to a 4.2 BB/9, which needs to be cut down significantly. Walks are deadly, but they’re even worse when given up in shorter relief appearances. If he wants to become a starter at some point, he will need to cut down on them. Also, to become a starter, Hader will need to use his off speed pitches more often. He threw his fastball 81.5% of the time in 2017, while using his slider 11.3% of his pitches and his changeup only 7.2%. No matter how good his fastball is, hitters will be able to catch up to it if they see it enough, his resolution should be to use his offspeed more.

Jacob Barnes

Fewer walks

Jacob Barnes finished with a 4.1 BB/9 and a 4.00 ERA. The high amount of walks likely had a big impact on his high ERA. If Barnes is going to be consistent contributor from the back of the bullpen, he needs to stop walking hitters so much.

Corey Knebel

Don’t allow so many walks
Repeat 2017 success

Corey Knebel needs to cut down on the walks. The Milwaukee Brewers relief corps actually had the highest BB/9 rate in all of Major League Baseball last year. Knebel had a 4.7 BB/9 after allowing 40 walks. It didn’t have a major impact on his ability to finish games but pitchers aren’t always that lucky. Especially as a closer, walks are devastating. To enter into the next tier of closers in baseball, Knebel has to cut down on the walks.

Brent Suter

Pitch past the fifth inning

If Brent Suter wants to become a full time starting pitcher, he’s going to need to be able to go deeper into games than the fifth inning. As soon as opponents get to facing Suter a third time, they’ve figured him out and he becomes ineffective. Given his lack of velocity, he should be given credit for how he makes it work to his advantage. He may have reached his peak potential as a swingman, but he could always work on going deeper.

Oliver Drake

Cut down walks
Cut down on extra base hits

Part of the reason for Oliver Drake‘s ineffectiveness was his 4.0 BB/9. But perhaps a larger reason was the high amount of extra base hits he gave up. 35% of all hits he allowed as a Brewer went for extra bases. Those should be two big points of emphasis going forward for Drake.

Chase Anderson

Repeat success
Stay healthy

Chase Anderson broke out in a big way in 2017 and it earned him a contract extension. He needs to repeat that success to prove he is a legitimate front of the rotation option for the Milwaukee Brewers going forward. Also, if he could not injure himself on a swing this year, that would be great as well.

Zach Davies

Pitch better at Miller Park
Go deeper into games

Zach Davies was terrible at home, posting a 5.48 ERA in Miller Park and opponents hit .307 against him there. His tremendous numbers on the road evened out his stat line, but he’s likely going to be the #2 starter to begin the year. If he’s going to live up to that billing, he needs to be better at home. It took Davies a month and a half to get past the sixth inning in a start. He earned a Quality Start in only 45% of his starts and he should strive to increase that number.

Jhoulys Chacin

Find consistency

Jhoulys Chacin has been up and down through his entire career. One year he’s good and the next he’s not. It’s been a trend for him since 2012. He’s coming off a good year which means he’s in line for a down year. Chacin needs to prevent that from happening and keep his ERA below 4.00 this year.

Yovani Gallardo

Cut walks in half

When Yovani Gallardo was pitching at the top of the rotation with the Milwaukee Brewers the first time, he was sitting around 3.0 BB/9. However, in the past two years, where he’s been mostly ineffective, Gallardo allowed well over 4.0 BB/9. His strikeout numbers have also decreased from around 9.0 K/9 to about 6.0 K/9 of late. With the increase in walks and decrease in strikeouts, it’s a recipe for disaster.

Jimmy Nelson

Recover from injury in record time
Return to form

Jimmy Nelson‘s shoulder injury has the Milwaukee Brewers future hanging in the balance. If he can return fairly quickly and return to the way he was pitching before he got hurt, the Brewers are going to be in a really good spot. He and Anderson would make a great 1-2 punch if they both can repeat their success.

Craig Counsell

Clinch Playoff berth
Win NLDS, NLCS, and World Series

Simply put, if these aren’t Craig Counsell’s goals heading into the season, he’s in the wrong profession. Counsell doesn’t seem like he’s in the wrong profession. Especially after the success of the 2017 season, building off of that is vital for this team.

Next: Understanding 2018 ZiPS Projections

If all of these players can achieve their New Year’s Resolutions, this should be a fantastic 2018 season to watch for the Milwaukee Brewers. We wish everyone a happy, healthy, and safe New Year.

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Milwaukee Brewers: 2018 New Year’s Resolutions for the Crew